Monday, October 3, 2011

Intercontinental hotel chain plans Uganda entry

A major international hotel chain has announced plans to enter the Uganda market.

The Intercontinental Hotels Group, the parent company of Intercontinental Nairobi, signed an agreement with Kingdom Kampala group on Monday.

The Kampala Intercontinental will be the first for the group to open in Uganda.

The hotel chain revealed its expansion plan that targets the East African region.

“We are looking to key international gateway cities to expand this brand and with the rapid growth of commerce and the business community in Uganda, Intercontinental Kampala and adjoining conference centre are perfectly placed to offer unrivalled facilities and service,” said John Bamsey, the chief operating officer of IHG Middle East and Africa.

In the deal, IHG will partner with Kingdom Kampala, which is part of Mara Group.

Five star

Intercontinental Kampala will be the third five star hotel in Kampala after the Kampala Serena and Kampala Hilton.

There are 171 Intercontinental hotels and resorts around the world with 34 of these located in Middle East and Africa.

The hotel group operates seven hotel brands among them Intercontinental hotels, Crowne Plaza and Holiday Inn, which have operated in the Kenyan market.

Holiday Inn, which opened its doors to the Kenyan market in 1995, has since been sold to another hotel group, Southern Sun Group, in a deal that was arrived at last year.